'No debate needed' on revoking of Chinese influencer's residency: MAC

Taipei, March. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) suggested Thursday that video evidence means there is "no need for debate" over whether a Chinese influencer living in Taiwan had called for China's annexation of Taiwan through military force.

The Chinese national, surnamed Liu (劉), had her residence permit revoked last week for "openly advocating for China's unification through military force," according to the National Immigration Agency (NIA).

Liu, whose residency in Taiwan was based on her marriage to a Taiwanese citizen, drew public scorn over the statements she made on her account "Yaya in Taiwan" (亞亞在台灣) on Chinese social media platform Douyin.

On Thursday morning, during a livestream on YouTube, Liu denied that she ever called for Chinese and Taiwanese unification by military force in her videos. She said she was merely discussing the large-scale Chinese military exercise held around Taiwan in May last year.

In response, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a regular news briefing later that day that the NIA had already thoroughly reviewed Liu's video content.

He also played a video from late May last year posted on the Facebook page of China Taiwan Net -- a website run by China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) -- that was reposted from Liu's Douyin account.

Liu said in the video that Taiwan had been "tightly surrounded" during the "Joint Sword-2024A" large-scale military drill around Taiwan on May 23-24 last year.

The Chinese influencer described the drill as "the most powerful and offensive exercise to date," adding that it was a move to "always be ready to defend our national sovereignty."

"Maybe when we wake up tomorrow morning, the island will already be covered with red flags. Just the thought of it makes me happy," Liu said in the video.

After playing the video, Liang asked: "Did she promote unification by military force in the video? I think there is no need for debate."

He then said that some Chinese people in Taiwan make provocative remarks on Douyin to attract views in China to boost online traffic and sales.

The Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area states that a Chinese national in Taiwan "may be deported, or ordered to depart within 10 days" under circumstances including "being considered threat [sic] to the national or social stability based on sufficient facts."